


New Feelings

by ohmiyaskdesu



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Arashi - Freeform, Fluff, Japanese, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-28
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2018-03-26 03:12:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3834856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmiyaskdesu/pseuds/ohmiyaskdesu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sho is a rebel and he runs away from home a few weeks before college starts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When he proudly showed off his acceptance letter to Keio University, his parents was jumping up and down with joy, and his siblings were congratulating him. So the family five went all out to set up a celebratory dinner that same day and called all their relatives over.

“Can’t you believe it?” One of his aunts whispered to another aunt. “Their son is better than ours? How can that happen? The kid barely even studied and he was a delinquent when he was in high school.”

“Shush!” The second aunt put a finger over her lip. “He’s looking this way. Oh my gosh, he must have heard us.”

“Oh I’m sorry,” Sho put his utensils down too loudly, causingthe other relatives to flinch. “Was I interrupting something?”

The whispering aunts both looked down while they played with their food pretending they didn’t hear Sho. Both women were hitting each other elbow to elbow and whispering something about “You’re an idiot!” or “He has a good hearing!” to each other.

Sho smirked. He liked seeing how his relatives were afraid to him but he stopped when he felt his father’s eyes on him.

“Sho, my son, can I drag you over for the kitchen for awhile? I have to talk to you about the… chicken,” His dad glared at him.

  
“Uh…”

“Just go,” His little brother Shuu nudged him at his side. “I’ll make the party more fun.”

“Thanks,” he whispered to his little brother before heading towards the kitchen.

He knows for sure that he was in trouble for acting so rude on the dinner table. No matter how many times his parents told him to keep his temper down to minimum, his gang side was always out and active so he tends to get into trouble a lot.

“What is it,” Sho hissed, “I just want to eat my food. Is all.”

“Sho!” his father’s voice boomed throughout the kitchen. “How many times did your mother and I tell you to act appropriately in front of your family? How many times?”

Sho mimicked his dad and rolled his eyes. “Many times.”

He saw his dad raise his hand in the air indicating that his old man wanted to hit him for being rude again.

“Go ahead, I’m not afraid,” Sho ran his hand over his cheek. “Besides, you can’t hit your own son.”

“Watch me,” his dad said before he felt a stinging pain across his cheek.

Sho couldn’t believe it. His dad had actually hit him and he didn’t stop this time. He ran his hand over his cheek again before he glared at his dad with blurry eyes and ran upstairs, shutting his room closed with a loud bang. He didn’t care if his relatives heard it. He didn’t care if his parents were embarrassed. And he didn’t care if his aunts talked shit behind his back.

Sho took out his luggage and took every single stuff in his room before heading out to his new college.

+++

He was forced to wait for a few weeks because he ran out of his own in his own free will. He didn’t even bid his siblings and his mother goodbye before leaving them for 4 years. So he rented out the penthouse in a hotel nearby Keio, glad that his dad didn’t freeze his account.

It’s been only a few hours since he left home and already, he was enjoying his state of happiness (though he missed his little sister and little brother to death). He took a bud light beer from the mini fridge in his room, and kicked his slippers off while feeling the breeze on the balcony.

“Ah~” Sho put his sunglasses on. “Nothing but my own freedom now that I’m away from that damn family.”

Truth is, Sho was confined in his house. Despite his anger and temperamental issues, his parents still refused to let him out of the house. His friend, Ninomiya Kazunari, would always offer him a spot to be on the bad side and ditch, but he was afraid his dad would take all his stuff away. And because of this, he was stuck at home with nothing better to do than studying for his classes. It was the only reason why he got into Keio in the first place.

Sho stayed in that spot not moving at all until he felt a soft tap on his shoulder.

“Um, sir?” a breathy voice woke him up, “You’re kind of, I don’t know how to say this, red right now. You’re a tomato…”

Sho’s eyes snapped open. How long had he been out in the daylight? The answer was, he was out all day until the sky turned dark.

“Shit!” Sho got up too fast. “Ow! Fuck! Why didn’t anyone wake me up?!”

“I was-”

“Who are you?!” Sho winced in pain as he pushed the person out. “What are you doing here? I swore I locked that door.”

“I’m sorry sir,” the person bowed politely. “I’m a bell boy and by boss sent me here to give you of my service.”

“Oh,” Sho slowly reached out to the back of his head to scratch it but couldn’t. “Sorry ‘bout that. I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s ok,” the bell boy stood back up. “I’m Aiba Masaki, nice to meet you. I will be here for your service and by the way, you’re cute.”


	2. Chapter 2

The following day, Sho paced the small area of his living room while waiting for his friend to arrive. He knows it wasn’t that hard to find the hotel since it was the tallest building in his area, and it was the only building named Arashi Hotels in Japan. He only called his friend over because he needed to talk to someone and that bell boy was starting to annoy the crap out of him. Aren’t bell boys supposed to do their jobs right?

“Shut up,” Sho whispered to himself so Aiba couldn’t hear it. Since yesterday, the bell boy always came in his room and always bothered him about questions like: “What’s your name?”, “What’s your favorite drink?”, or “Do you have a dog?” It’s like the bell boy was trying to get to know him better just in case he was going to stay for awhile…

“Sho!”

Said man turned around and saw his friend leaning on the door frame. He smirked when his friend gave him a knowing look on the face and immediately invited him in his suite.

“So what’s the emergency?” his friend asked him before looking back and forth between him and Aiba.

Sho snorted, “There’s nothing going on! We- just listen to me Nino.” He didn’t want to be teased at the moment because Aiba was looking at them from time to time. What was he even doing here? Didn’t he dismiss Aiba an hour ago?

“Fine,” Nino sighed in defeat, “just tell him to shut up. I can’t hear over him singing.”

After Sho finally got rid of Aiba, he started off by saying how he ended up sleeping in the hotel. He explained everything from getting an acceptance letter to Keio and his parents wanted to hold a celebration dinner which he had refused to attend; but unfortunately, it was in his house. While they were having their dinner, he overheard his aunts talking bad about him and he snapped right in front of everybody and humiliated the aunts.

“I can’t believe you-”

“Quiet, I’m not done yet,” Sho hissed and Nino stopped talking Then he told Nino about his dad making some lame excuse just to talk to him in the kitchen and he was forced to go. As soon as they both went in the kitchen, his dad was in a rage and because of his dad’s anger, he started mimicking his dad. And because of his rude actions, his dad raised his hand and slapped him across the face.

“Out of all the things,” Nino shook his head, “you finally made your old man snap. I can’t even do that!”

“So?” Sho rolled his eyes, “at least I’m out of their house now and I don’t have to go under their damn rules. And now that I’m in college, I can go out and do the shit I wanna do!”

“Oh and about your acceptance letter, I got the same one yesterday too.”

“You mean you-”

“Yeah, I did it without telling you. But uh… I got in…” Nino said with a flat tone like he wasn’t happy at all. But Sho thought it was the best thing because he’s been going to the same preschool with Nino ever since then.

“You got in?!” Sho playfully punched his best friend on the shoulder, “you know what that means right?” He looked at his friend straight in the eyes and they both knew what he meant.

“Fuck yes!” Nino jumped off the couch, “parties and getting drunk!”

Sho jumped off the couch too and both men called Aiba in just because the bell boy popped out of nowhere. He didn’t mind Aiba being around, but the bell boy just kept giving him weird looks, and he was strangely quiet the whole time he and Nino were getting drunk together. For some weird reason, he felt that he was doing something wrong just because Aiba was around them.

“What ya waitin’ for?” Nino slurred as he slung an arm around Sho’s sloping shoulders. “Lessgo and do… stuff that we… some stuff that…”

“Go to sleep,” Sho pushed Nino to the ground, “You’re too drunk.” It was a good thing he only had a few bottles, but he started feeling sleepy himself. Even his feet started going numb.

“So why you work here?” Sho pointed a finger at Aiba, “you broke? You need money? I have… I can give you it…”

“It’s ok,” Aiba gave him that same smile when they first met, “just trying to earn money for school.” Aiba slowly got up and bowed. “Good night sir, you and Ninomiya-sama have a good night.”

“Don’t leave yet!” Sho crawled on the floor trying to catch up with Aiba, “I still need you… clean and stuff… and make dinner…” His eyes were starting to droop when the last thing he saw was Aiba giving him a worried look before closing the door the same time his eyes closed shut.


	3. Chapter 3

Sho woke up to Nino yelling at his 3DS and blaming Bowser it was his entire fault he died in the final stage. But Sho knew Nino was starting to get annoyed because he’s heard that same game over tune over and over again until Sho kicked his friend to shut up.  
  
“What are you still doing here?” Sho yawned, “I thought you left already. What time is it?”  
  
He heard a jingle indicating the game was paused. “It’s 3pm. Damn, that’s late.”  
  
“Crap!” Sho jumped off the floor, “I was supposed to go out and buy my books. Nino, just take care of my place for me and don’t eat all my junk food. I need that to survive.”  
  
“Aye aye, sir!” Nino smirked, “have fun buying your boring books!”  
  
Sho rolled his eyes at his friend and disappeared in the bedroom. Since he reeked of alcohol, he immediately rushed to the bathroom and took a quick shower. It was a good thing he only needed one rinse and he was good to go. Then he quickly dried off and stormed to the right side of the bed where his luggage lay open. He bent down and thrashed his clothes around the room until he found what he wanted to wear: a simple pair of jeans, a v-neck t-shirt, and his favorite cap. After a single adjustment and a check in the mirror, he was ready to go out when he bumped into someone.  
  
“Watch out!” Sho fell to the floor, “watch where you’re- Oh, Aiba-san…sorry, I didn’t mean to.”  
  
“It’s ok,” Aiba immediately stood up and dusted off dirt from his suit, “need help?”  
  
Sho shot him a glare and swatted his hand away, “I don’t need you’re help. Just clean up after Nino.” He didn’t know why he was just angry at the bell boy, only because he was in the way and his clothes were now dirty.  
  
He stood up when Aiba left and took his car keys with him. But before he made it out, he stopped and smirked at himself. “Aiba-san, come here!”  
  
Sho heard the bell boy put away the cleaning equipment and his footsteps were heading towards him.  
  
“Actually, I do need your help. There’s this place I need to go and I’m going to have to carry a lot of stuff. You are going to offer me service, am I right?” Sho pointed out to Aiba. After all, Aiba was a bell boy and the man did offer him service.  
  
“But I can’t leave. I’m still working my shift…” he heard the bell boy sigh in disappointment.  
  
“Don’t worry,” Sho turned around and grabbed Aiba’s wrist, “I’ll pay you extra and I’m pretty sure you’re boss will do as I say when I tell him who I am. Here,” Sho pushed Aiba in his room and closed it right after, “just put on some of my clothes. I don’t want to walk around with you wearing those clothes.”  
  
As he waited for Aiba to come out the room, he took the empty seat besides Nino whose eyes were still glued on the screen. He didn’t know what was so interesting about the games he was playing but he decided to watch Nino get defeated again while waiting for Aiba to finish. Not a minute later, he heard the door open and Aiba came out, his head down and breathing louder than normal.  
  
“Come let’s-” Sho started but cut himself off when he saw Aiba. He heard Nino behind him gasp and that game over tune came on again when both men laid their eyes on Aiba.  
  
For a tall man, Aiba looked good in his own clothes better than he did. The taller male picked exactly the type of clothes that showed how skinny and well built he was. That thin shirt and skinny jeans didn’t look good on him anyway so he’ll just let Aiba have it…  
  
“Ahem,” Sho coughed and pushed Nino, “let’s go Aiba-san. I can’t be late.”  
  
“Good luck,” he heard Nino behind him say, “Sho is very picky.” He didn’t know what Nino meant, but he dragged Aiba away to his car and drove to the store where his needed books were on sale.  
  
+  
  
“Come on!” Sho stomped his foot on the ground, “You’re slow for a bell boy.”  
  
“Coming!” Aiba panted behind a stack of books in his arms. Sho was impressed at how Aiba can carry so much books when actually, he didn’t need all of them except for the two books at the bottom. He just wanted to see if Aiba will do everything he says.  
  
He started walking off again when Aiba was about feet away from him and turned a sharp corner. Just a few seconds later, he heard the sounds of books hitting the floor and Sho turned back around rushing to Aiba’s side.  
  
“Are you ok?” Sho grabbed the male’s arm and turned it around to see if there were any marks, “Did you get hurt?”  
  
“I’m fine,” Aiba pulled his arm back from Sho uncomfortably, “I’m just going to pick up these-”  
  
“Screw it,” Sho pulled Aiba away from the pile of books, “I don’t want them anymore. I’ll just get Nino to buy them for me.”  
  
“O-ok,” Aiba’s voice sounded strained, “are you sure you don’t need them, sir?”  
  
Sho shook his head and halted causing Aiba to jump back a little. “Stop calling me sir, I have a name you know. Just call me Sho.”  
  
“Yes si-Sho-san,” Aiba starred at him wide eyed, “whatever you say.” Sho nodded his head in agreement and smiled showing that he was just as satisfied. But Aiba kept looking at him, then his arm, then at him again.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Sho released his grip on Aiba, “l-let’s just go.” With that said Sho started walking to the nearest café and stopped only when Aiba needed to catch up with him.  
  
“Just a coffee please,” Sho told the waitress, “and one for him too. Give us milk.”  
  
“Sure thing, sir. Is there anything else?” the waitress asked with a high pitched voice. It was obvious that the waitress was trying to hit on him, but he couldn’t care less.  
  
“We’re good,” Sho eyed the giggling girls behind the counter, “just make it fast. I have other stuff to do.”  
  
“Sure thing,” the girl giggled and ran her hands down Sho’s useless buff arms, “anything for you.”  
  
Sho watched the girl walk off and her hips were swaying slowly from side to side. Only girls that wanted to have sex with him would do that, but he paid no attention to her as he laid his eyes on Aiba’s face who was very, very quiet the whole time.  
  
“So what’s the deal?” Sho rested his elbow on the mahogany table, “aren’t supposed to be asking me questions by now?”  
  
“Huh?” Aiba looked up in confusion. “I don’t know what you mean.”  
  
“Never mind,” Sho frowned after the same waitress brought them their coffee, “just drink.”  
  
The two sat in silence while the only sounds Sho can hear was both of them slurping their drinks. He kept observing Aiba is if he were a research data and all he could come up with was that the man was obviously nervous. Nervous of what?  
  
“Hey!~” Someone slid a chair across the room and sat with the two of them, “if it isn’t Sakurai Sho! What are you doing here? I thought you hated cafés?”  
  
Sho turned to face this person in annoyance but his face relaxed when he realized who it was. “Jun-kun!” Sho bro-fisted him, “I haven’t since you since junior high. Where did you disappear off to?”  
  
Matsumoto Jun was his friend from junior high and together, he, Nino, and Jun were the troublemakers in school with good looks. No one messed with the three of them since they were people that cut off anyone’s parent’s hard earned money. Junior high went the same as usual, getting other kids in trouble when Jun just disappeared one day and their troublemaker days were dying.  
  
“I was meant to tell you and Nino, but my mom actually hated the fact that we were being such bad asses. So she locked me home until it was time to go and I-”  
  
“It doesn’t matter,” Sho cut him off, “as long as I get to see my bud again the past doesn’t matter. Let me tell Nino this! He’s going to be so excited.”  
  
“Do whatever,” Jun waved his hand, “I’ll just stay here with your friend.”  
  
Sho left the two together but he stopped halfway when he felt like something bad was going to happen. It was Jun, for Christ’s sake, he wouldn’t go after Aiba since he knows Jun had a thing for females. Then Sho shook his head.  _What am I thinking of_ , he slapped himself on the forehead,  _Aiba’s a nobody and I don’t give a rat’s ass about him_. With that thought in mind, he walked out the café to make the call and after explaining the whole situation to Nino, he noticed how Aiba was laughing with Jun. Sho ignored his heart beating in pain and continued to listen to Nino reminiscing the past.


	4. Chapter 4

Sho slid out of his blanket when he realized it was 7am. He stretched his arms out in the air and jumped out of bed, half expecting Aiba was cooking him breakfast. But as he was washing his mouth in the bathroom, there wasn’t the smell of bacon and the sound of food sizzling against the black pan. He also found it strange how there weren’t even sounds of the floorboards creaking through the door. Aiba’s footsteps were usually the first thing he heard since living in the hotel.

“Aiba-san?” Sho poked his head out the bathroom door, “are you cooking breakfast for me?” There was no answer and Sho started to feel worried. It was usually the right time of the day for Aiba to pop out of nowhere and start asking him questions again. Yet there was still time for Aiba to come in anytime and he’ll just have to wait.

+

Sho checked the little arm in his watch and exhaled in frustration. It was past 10 am, Aiba still hasn’t showed up, and his plate was empty except for that loaf of bread that he munched on earlier--cooking isn’t his forte. His patience was growing thin and he felt like his eyes were starting to grow eye bags. He was starting to feel like he’s done something wrong or something even worse like Aiba quitting his job. He wasn’t that hard on him yesterday…was he?

Sho’s patience broke the ice when it was already past 1pm and he was going around the hotel like a mad man. He may have startled a few guests that passed by him, but they stopped complaining when they saw his face and gasped in horror, silently praying that his dad doesn’t take them off their job. But he didn’t care as he brushed against their shoulder, murmuring about how someone’s gone missing.

“Where is he?” Sho barged in the manager’s office, “where’s that damn bell boy?”

“W-who do you m-mean?” the head manager of Arashi hotel stuttered when he realized the rude intruder. “Is it that A-Aiba boy you’re l-looking for?”

Sho grabbed the old man’s collar and forced the man forward, “Tell me where he is! I haven’t ate my damn breakfast yet!”

“I’m sorry, Sakurai-san, but the boy took a sick excuse th-”

“What?!” Sho released his grip, “when?!”

“Through the phone!” the old man scurried to the other side of the small office room, “he was coughing pretty bad. I think it’s best if-”

“Tell me his address,” Sho interrupted the old man yet again, “I can’t stand it when my breakfast isn’t in my stomach.” Truth was, Sho didn’t care about his breakfast. He could go the whole day without ever eating something and starve whenever his stomach growled.

After scribbling down Aiba’s address on a small paper, he rushed back upstairs, grabbed his keys, and drove far south to Chiba in search for the bell boy that was missing. After getting through the worst traffic of the year, Sho parked his car in front of a restaurant called Keikarou. The restaurant, as explained by the manager, was owned by Aiba‘s parents and it‘s been standing there for more than a hundred years. The place looked like it was in a good condition, and Sho was amazed at how there were still customers coming in the small restaurant.

“Irrashaima-”

Sho’s eyes grew wide when he was greeted by the same tall male that worked for him back at the hotel. He was about to drag Aiba away, but there was this woman, that he guessed was Aiba’s mom, calling for Aiba’s name frantically.

“I’m sorry… Sho-san,” it was visible Aiba was still having a hard time calling Sho by his first name, “my mom she-”

“It’s fine,” Sho waved his hand to gesture Aiba can go, “I’ll just wait.” With that said, he watched Aiba run awkwardly to his mother, and he walked back outside of the restaurant, waiting for Aiba to finish work.

+

After the small hand in his watched reached 9pm, the lights to the restaurant turned off and Aiba came out while rubbing his hands together for warmth. Sho watched the tall male lock the restaurant behind him and stopped when he saw that Sho was still waiting for him and was shaking real badly.

“I thought you left!” Aiba ran to Sho’s side and gave him a pair of gloves from his pocket, “you can have this… I didn’t even need it….”

Sho immediately accepted the offer when he saw the gloves come out from Aiba’s pockets. He put them on without thinking about the other male and noticed that it was still warm. After putting them on, he felt kind of warm, other than the fact that his face was starting to feel even warmer.

A minute has passed and the two males were still standing under the lamp and either of them uttered a word. Sho only kicked some blooming weeds on the floor, while Aiba was still rubbing his hands together and was blowing on it. Then Sho remembered the reason why he was suffering in the cold when he was supposed to be back at his hotel, snuggling with the blanket that belonged to the hotel.

“I though you were sick?!” Sho raised his voice as if he was scolding him, “What are you doing still working?!”

The bell boy jumped a little when he heard Sho’s loud voice and answered in an honest tone, “My parents needed extra help. Manager-san won’t let me leave unless I was sick. So I had no choice but to-”

“AH! I don’t care!” Sho scratched his head in irritation. He couldn’t understand why anyone would want to do something as stupid as that. If he were to make a sick excuse, he would use that time to go out and party; not to work for another thing and waste precious time there.

“I want to go back!” Sho whined a little kid what wants a puppy, “make me dinner. I’m so hungry~”

“I’m so sorry,” Aiba bowed politely with an unchanging tone, “I took 2 days off and I won’t be back until Sunday…”

Sho pouted, but not visible enough for Aiba to see it. It would be nice to be able to eat dinner while Aiba was around, but now he had to go home and-

“Wait!” Sho closed the driver’s seat and locked the car after, “why don’t I have dinner in there? It is a restaurant, right?” He eagerly pointed to Keikarou and Sho was smiling from ear to ear.

He heard Aiba sigh and the latter turned around. “I guess that could work. My parents doesn’t mind company…”

“Great!” Sho patted Aiba in the back, “open that restaurant!”

After being told do so, Aiba went first then Sho followed in suit. Just as Aiba was about to put his hand on the handle, Sho reached out for the same object but pulled away. “Sorry,” he mumbled, “j-just open the door.”

Aiba didn’t say anything further when the door opened and Sho followed him to the back. Why was Aiba’s hand so cold? Sho thought. Then he rubbed his hands together and did a silent face slap. Damn it, this was his and he gave it to me. Just how stupid can I be? Despite the letter of acceptance from Keio, Sho felt that he didn’t deserve to go to the school as he slowly took off the gloves and stuffed it in his jacket, ashamed and embarrassed of himself.


	5. Chapter 5

Sho scratched his head first thing in the morning before yawning and cracking his spines for comfort. His eyes remained closed when he turned around the bed and felt someone breathing on his face.  
  
“AH!” Sho pushed himself back when he saw Aiba’s face right in front of him. “Where did he- Oh yeah,” Sho slapped both sides of his head in realization, “I had dinner at Aiba’s last night and his dad was giving me sake…”  
  
He heard someone pound on the tatami door, causing him to jump back in surprise, followed by a woman‘s loud voice. “Wake up, boys! It‘s almost time to open up! We have lots of things to do!”  
  
“Just another hour,” he heard Aiba mumble on a brown stuffed dog that’s he’s been hugging, “Just one more-”  
  
“Masaki! Sho-kun! Wake up! Yuusuke can‘t carry all 50 orders with just two arms!” Is it me, or all the people in Aiba’s family are loud? Sho cocked his head to the side. I wonder if all the Aiba’s familiar are like this…  
  
“I’m up…” Aiba’s voice came out weakly, “just one more hour. I’ll be-” Then the door slid open and Aiba’s mom was standing with her legs apart, while carrying a huge kitchen knife in her hands. Sho laughed nervously when he saw her and started backing away while trying to make it less obvious that he was looking for his clothes.  
  
“I’m sorry,” the mom finally put the kitchen knife down on the floor and rushed to her son’s side. “Masaki can get so stubborn. He’s been like this for ever since he turned 1. This boy can be so-- Wake up!-- lazy. I’m sorry Sho-kun, he must have been late to work all the time.”  
  
“Oh not at all!” Sho shook his head in disagreement. In fact, he explained to Aiba’s mom how Aiba was always there on time and Aiba was never late once since he first came to the hotel. Wait- How did she know about their relationship. He didn’t even remember talking to Aiba’s mom about this…  
  
“Kaa-san!” Aiba sat up on the futon and threw his plushy across the room, “lemme sleep more! I don’t- Oh Sho-san!” Aiba stopped his whining when he realized Sho was watching them, “I-I’ll just g-go!” The brown haired man stood up and rushed out the room before he could hear his mom guffaw at her son’s odd behavior. Sho didn’t laugh with her since his understanding of Aiba hasn’t reached its full potential yet.  
  
“Oh I’m sorry,” Aiba-san covered her mouth but continued laughing, “My son does that when he sees someone he likes. He must be special to you.”  
  
“S-someone he likes?” Sho stuttered, “Wha- But I-”  
  
“It’s ok,” Aiba’s mom finally suppressed her laughter down, “He’s still learning. The boy’s about to be in college soon. But sadly, he has to work in various jobs just to pay off his tuition…”  
  
“Oh,” Sho replied in a flat tone, “I see.” They said nothing more as Aiba’s mom got up and left Sho sitting on the floor, thinking of a way to help Aiba. But he barely knew Aiba and he didn’t know if the taller male will accept his money. All he had to do was ask, and then he doesn’t have to see Aiba ever again- Sho slapped himself on the face. Why is he caring about Aiba and not himself? There was his books still to be bought, his dorm room still to be booked, and his monthly allowance from his parents even though he’s old enough to earn money for his own.  
  
“I can’t keep going like this,” Sho mumbled to himself, “I need a job. I need to get lai-”  
  
“What was that?” Aiba’s mom came back in the room a few seconds later, “is Maa-chan back yet?”  
“No!” Sho clamped his mouth shut, “He’s still in the bathroom!”  
  
“I see,” the woman smiled at him, “why don’t you come down for breakfast? I’m sure Dad would like to speak to you about Aiba.”  
  
“Ok,” Sho slowly got up and realized he was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday, “I need to-”  
  
“Don’t worry!” Aiba’s mom patted him in the back, “You can use Masaki’s clothes I’m sure he won’t mind!” Sho wasn’t sure about Aiba-san’s suggestion, but he didn’t feel right using Aiba’s clothes without getting permission from the owner. Since it was coming from Aiba-san’s mouth, Sho was left in the small bedroom and quickly dressed in Aiba’s tight clothes.  
  
+  
  
Sho shifted about in his seat because he felt uncomfortable wearing an even tighter jeans than his size. Even when he rummaged through the whole closet, they were all the same sizes and he was left to wear them along with a tank top that he found the most comfortable. He heard Aiba-san’s mom gasp when he came down the stairs earlier, but decided to ignore it as he made his way to the family’s table.  
  
“So,” Aiba’s dad set his silver chopsticks down his bowl horizontally, “Masaki works under you, am I correct?”  
  
“Yes, sir,” Sho gulped. He felt the need to be afraid of Aiba’s dad because the man kept starring at him silently while offering more cups of sake last night. What did that old man want to speak to him about?  
  
“Is he being a lazy as-”  
  
“Watch your language, Otousan!” Aiba’s mom yelled from the kitchen. Sho was old enough to hear cuss words, but he felt that Aiba-san was right to tell the dad to stop; he was just as uncomfortable wearing the tight jeans.  
  
“No sir,” Sho answered him truthfully, “he’s doing fine! He works well!” Sho couldn’t find the best words to describe how Aiba was and just went with whatever came out of his mouth.  
  
“I see,” the dad poured himself a cup of orange juice, “just let me know if my son misbehaves. I’ll scold that child of mine.”  
  
“What are you guys talking about?” Aiba came running down the stairs with the towel over his shoulders and his hair still dripping wet.  
  
“N-nothing,” the dad put up his newspaper as if trying to hide what just happened, “just eat you breakfast, Masaki. Sakurai-kun was just telling me about… things.”  
  
From the corner of his eyes he sees Aiba looking back and forth at him while talking to his mom. It was obvious Aiba had noticed he was wearing his clothes. But Sho found himself looking at the latter without shame as he watched a drop of water fall down the latter’s shoulder.  
  
“Sho-kun!” Aiba-san’s voice snapped him back to reality, “are you going to eat?”  
  
“Oh yeah,” Sho picked up the silver chopsticks on off the napkin, “Ittadakimasu!” After taking one bite off the sweet and sour fish, Sho closed his eyes in sensation because of the flavor that danced on his taste buds. “It’s good, Aiba-san!”  
  
“Well thank you,” Aiba-san pushed him another bowl of fish, “I’m glad to hear it from you. Now Yuusuke,” Aiba-san turned to face the 16 year old teenager, “eat before you’re about to be late. You don’t want your homeroom teacher to scold you again.”  
  
“Hai!” Yuusuke started stuffing his mouth with a bunch of food, “Will do!”  
  
And after a whole hour spent eating breakfast with the Aiba family, Sho started to think that eating with them was better than eating with his own family. Seeing Yuusuke, Aiba’s little brother, he started to miss Mai and Shuu, wondering how they were doing with him gone…  
  
+  
  
“I didn’t know Sho-san was good with kids,” Aiba started walking with him to his car because he offered him a ride, “And I thought that you hate them.”  
  
“What makes you think that?” Sho scratched his eyebrow. Of course he was good with kids! He’s the eldest of the two in his family and he had to take care of those two before they could walk!  
  
“I’m sorry,” he heard Aiba laugh the first time since meeting him, “I didn’t expect you to be so nice… I heard you always have a bad temper…”  
  
“From who?”  
  
“My co-workers,” Aiba started kicking small dirt in the street, “they all said that you would make a bad CEO.” Sho felt outraged just from hearing a silly rumor. A CEO? Even his dad couldn’t manage a building because the man was a politician.  
  
“I’m not going to be a CEO!” Sho spat, “I never dreamt to be one. I’ve always wanted to be out there doing news and telling people about the world were in and how-” Sho stopped himself when he realized he was telling Aiba what his dream was. He didn’t plan on ever telling him, but the words just slipped out of his mouth like a secret waiting to be revealed. But somehow, he felt the need to tell Aiba this after seeing the taller male work so hard today.  
  
“Oh,” Aiba replied and sigh, “I didn’t know you were into the economics.”  
  
“Well duh,” Sho clicked his tongue in annoyance, “didn’t you remember me getting all those books a few days ago? They were all economic books.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Aiba apologized suddenly, “I just have trouble with- with- never mind. Let’s just go.”  
  
“With what?” Sho stopped so Aiba stopped too for him to explain. “What is it?”  
  
“It’s not much,” Aiba continued walking faster to the car without him, “Let’s just go.”  
  
“Tell me!” Sho caught up with Aiba and ran up to his side, “What is it?” Aiba shook his head and immediately went to the passenger’s side. Even after Sho kept badgering him about it, Aiba kept quiet and the man was good at it.  
  
Halfway to the hotel, Sho gave up asking seeing that Aiba refused to talk the whole ride. After parking the car in the private parking, Sho got out after Aiba and followed the bell boy in silence. The two kept at it until Aiba offered to drop him off to the front of his suite and said one last thing before closing the door behind him, “Sho-chan looked good in my outfit today.” With that said, Aiba closed the door and Sho stood in the dark while he felt butterflies in his stomach, and his face feeling hotter than normal. Maybe he was just having a fever from standing in the cold the other day…


	6. Chapter 6

As of last night’s weird temperature change, Sho felt himself come down with a  _real_  fever. He could no longer feel the ability of getting up and peeing or greeting Aiba on his way out the bedroom. He couldn’t breathe through his nose, his throat was itchy, and he could barely open his eyes.  
  
“Sho-chan?” Aiba called through the door, “your breakfast is ready.”  
  
“I can’t move,” Sho tried speaking through his raspy throat, “bring it here.” He wasn’t sure if Aiba heard him, but the door swung open as soon as he finished the last word. He saw through his half open eyes that Aiba was looking at him with worry plastered on his face. Then the latter disappeared and came back with a bowl of soup and a glass of water.  
  
“Here, Sho-chan,” Aiba put the tray on the night table and picked up the spoon filled with soup, “Drink this, it’s good for your body to keep you warm.”  
  
“Baka,” Sho said after gulping down the soup, “It’s your fault I’m sick. You made me wait for 8 hours in the cold.”  
  
“That was two days ago,” Aiba pointed out, “why are you getting sick now?”  
  
“Didn’t you hear me?” Sho drank another round of soup, “It’s your fault.”  
  
“What happened?!” Nino came in the room uninvited and unexpectedly, “My Nino senses told me that something happened to you! Are you dying? Are you on drugs? Did you finally make a girl pregnant?”  
  
Sho swore he saw Aiba tense up a little after the last question. He gave a rather nervous laugh and told the taller male to continue while he tried to glare at his friend to shut up. Nino seemed to have understood the situation when he took a seat on the bed and sat there quiet while Aiba was blowing on the soup to make it warm.  
  
“How’d this happen?” Nino finally spoke.  
  
Sho didn’t want to tell Nino exactly what happened and he didn’t know if Aiba was comfortable on the idea of telling Nino what happened while the skinny man was away for some time.  
  
“Not much,” Sho shrugged, “I was just outside the balcony yesterday and like the first time I came here, I fell asleep and Aiba-san found me sick on the floor.” At least half of it wasn’t a lie; he was actually outside somewhere else when he got sick. And he even mentioned Aiba finding him. At least he didn’t lie all the way…  
  
“I see,” Nino eyed him, “I’m going to call Jun.”  
  
Before Sho could stop Nino from calling Jun, the latter was already outside the room while Aiba continued feeding him. Sho didn’t know what to say at the moment but just by looking at Aiba, the latter had a lot to say.  
  
Sho wiped his nose with a tissue, “Let’s talk later.” Aiba nodded his head and the bell boy left right after. Sho looked to the left and saw that Aiba hasn’t finished feeding him yet. He felt like calling him again for help, but he already felt guilty for not telling Nino the whole truth about why he got sick. Is Aiba mad at him? He really couldn’t tell since the taller male always looked at him with innocent eyes…  
  
“Jun’s coming over,” Nino came in a few seconds later, “he told me that he wanted to talk to us about something.”  
  
“Ok,” Sho answered shortly. He really didn’t care about what Jun had to say since he felt something else towards the latter. It was true that he, Nino, and Jun were really good friends and he was never once mad at either of them. But after he heard Jun was coming, his eyebrows furrowed together and his fists were clenching and unclenching as if he were getting ready for a fight.  
  
While Nino was outside bothering Aiba and waiting for Jun to arrive, Sho’s head lolled to the side when he remembered his encounter with Jun a few days ago. The sight of seeing Jun being able to make Aiba laugh when he had no ability to do so, made him feel something that he couldn’t explain. The bell boy only asked him of such little questions, and Aiba barely laughed around him. Even when he stares at him and tries to make conversation, the latter only talks when spoken to. It’s like Aiba was afraid of him.  
  
“Jun’s here!” Nino yelled for Sho to hear.  
  
“Don‘t need to yell,” Sho sighed. Just the thought of Jun getting near Aiba brought him shivers down his back.  
  
“Are you alright?” Jun came in the room looking worried, “I thought you were Sakurai Sho, the kid who never loses, even to sickness!”  
  
“That’s not true,” Sho turned so his back so he was facing Jun. He was glad that Jun came to visit him but at the same time, he didn’t want to see his face to refrain himself from hitting it. Besides, he didn’t want to put up a fight with a DoS. His energy had depleted to below 50%.  
  
“Well just make sure you get better,” Jun patted Sho’s leg, “I’m going to talk to Aiba-chan. Why didn’t you tell me he worked here?”  
  
Sho didn’t answer so he pretended to sleep. He had no intention on telling Jun about Aiba after witnessing the two happily chatting while he was making a call to Nino that day. He never felt that Jun should know, or will ever know in the first place.  
  
While Sho lay on the bed and the soup was left untouched, he could hear all three men outside talking and laughing about something he wasn’t involved in. He could hear Jun’s laugh the most and Aiba’s breathy laugh right after. What did Jun have that he didn’t have?  
  
As he watched the long hand move to every second in his watch, Sho was starting to get tired of Jun’s presence. He grabbed the thick blanket and threw it aside while setting his feet down on the floor. Once the coldness from the floor touch his feet, he shivered and he suddenly felt weak. However, that didn’t stop him from walking out the room. He slowly put the right foot ahead then the left foot next as if he was learning how to walk again. Once he reached the kitchen, he noticed that it was quiet and his legs started to give up on him.  
  
“I’m sorry!” Sho fell to the floor after witnessing an unwanted event, “Just ignore me. I was about to go back anyways!”  
  
“Sho-chan!” Aiba came rushing towards him, “Are you ok?”  
  
“I’m fine!” Sho slapped Aiba’s hand away, “don’t touch me. Just go and make me new soup.”  
  
Sho said nothing more as he crawled back to the bedroom, almost tripping over Nino who wanted to go see what the racket was, and closed door behind him. He took the blanket off the bed and covered himself with it, while his eyes remained unblinking. He slowly pushed himself down until his head hit the floor hard and had no intention of wanting to go back to the warm bed. All he wanted to do was close his eyes, and forget witnessing Aiba being kissed by Jun.


	7. Chapter 7

Sho regretted being harsh on Aiba last night. He didn’t blame him, or Jun, for having affection towards each other, but more of so mad at himself for not doing anything about it last night. However he couldn’t understand why he felt like he should have taken Aiba from Jun, instead of pushing the bell boy away.  
  
“Damn it!” Sho spat as he pounded his fists on the floor. “Why the fuck do I feel this?! My heart…it’s--”  
  
“Sho-chan!”  
  
Sho ignored the familiar voice screaming for him behind the locked door. This voice no longer gave him the reason to see this person, and even store his every words into his head. It wasn’t right. Anything, anymore, nothing was right! He shouldn’t have disobeyed his father in the first place and ran away from home. He couldn’t help but hate himself for everything that’s going through his mind.  
  
“Sho-chan! Please come out…”  
  
“Go away…” He replied weakly but not loud enough for the bell boy to hear.  
  
“Please, Sho-chan!” Aiba screamed again.  
  
To his annoyance, he stood up and unlocked the door. After opening it, he glared at the surprised Aiba and pushed him out of the way. He knows he wasn’t supposed to be acting this way since Aiba was nothing but nice. It’s just that he couldn’t help but show him how he felt and he too, also mattered.  
  
“I don’t want to see your face anymore!” Sho yelled and threw a pillow across the room without looking at him. He was lying though, but his anger was the one working behind it all.  
  
“Sho-chan…”  
  
“Stop calling me that!” Sho hissed. He actually liked it when Aiba called him that way since there was no one else but him.  
  
“Just let me explain--”  
  
“Please leave,” Sho asked him once but he wanted to take those words back. As much as his heart wanted to, his mouth wasn’t opening up.  
  
“I--”  
  
He stormed from the living room to the entrance and opened the door for him. Truth is, he hated himself for not having enough courage to fight for his own feelings. He just needed time to think very hard about his situation and why everything the way it was.  
  
The bell boy didn’t say anything and just slowly walked from his spot to the door. It took him awhile to leave since Sho refused to meet eyes with him, and clicked his tongue when he wanted to talk. Instead, he sighed one last time before turning his back and walking away.  
  
There was nothing left for Sho to do. College was only two weeks away and all this would just add up more stress. He shouldn’t have gotten himself involved with the bell boy, and he should have made his heart stop beating every time he saw the latter. But he couldn’t let all of this to stop from happening since he wasn’t God. Life was just so cruel on him.  
  
With nothing much left to do, he called Nino on the phone and invited him out to anywhere that would let him forget. Let him forget what happened the past few days, and forget the feeling that’s building in his heart. Also to let loose of the thugs and pulls in his heart, and ease away the pain that came after it.  
  
“Ni~no~” Sho slurred as he slung his arm over his best-friend’s shoulder. “Why is… why this?”  
  
“Why is what~” Nino mewled as he continued to drink the mug clean.  
  
Sho didn’t answer since he was too busy being drunk. He really couldn’t care about anything since his mind was floating in the air. There was nothing that could hurt him anymore because his best-friend and beer was at his side. It was all that he needed.  
  
“Nino~” Sho called his friend over and dropped the mug on the floor ignoring the glass that was cutting in his expensive shoes. “Nino~”  
  
“What?!” his friend replied and spun around with a cheeky grin on his face.  
  
In the end, Sho thought that being with Nino would help him forget. But the longer he continued to stare at his friend, the more he could see Aiba’s face. He shook his head multiple times only to open them again and see the bell boy’s face. Nothing was really helping anymore.  
  
“Forgive me…” Sho mumbled.  
  
He reached out for Aiba and pulled him closer until they were centimeters apart. He didn’t let the hitting stop him and slowly, he leaned in for a kiss. Sho pushed his head towards him so their kiss was deepening. The problem was, he wasn’t responding.  
  
“Masa- Oh my god, Nino. I didn’t mean to!” He shrieked after letting go of his sleeping friend. Even if Nino was asleep, he had yet again done something stupid. He was hoping that Nino was drunk enough not to remember all of this and misunderstood his feelings. Losing someone important was equally worse as losing his best friend.  
  
“Nino- hic- wake up!” Sho hiccupped while he pushed his friend around. After kicking and shoving him for a few times, the latter finally woke up with a dazed and confused look.  
  
“What happened?” Nino yawned while he scratched the back of his head. Sho didn’t want go to through explaining everything in detail since the latter was still obviously drunk. He told him that he passed out right after he finished singing the last song, and he fell on the floor because he did some weird jerk in his sleep. Nino seemed to believe him throughout and decided it was better for the both of them to head home.  
  
On his way to the hotel with Nino in his arms, he saw someone familiar in the corner of his eyes. He knows that man has work, but what was he doing out during work hours? Sho didn’t want to know, but his feet was already starting to follow him. It was hard enough to keep up with Nino sagging besides him and the latter walking with a fast pace. Finding the nearest hotel, he asked the manager if he could keep Nino in the lobby for awhile, and quickly headed out.  
  
It was easy to spot that head in the middle of the crowd. The short, and light brownish hair stood out from all those black, blonde, and covered heads. He stopped when he did, and followed him from far away. When he was sure that he had reached his destination, he stepped in the store across the street.  
  
He patiently waited for a couple of minutes when he saw someone else familiar enter the store. It was no mistake. The two were meeting each other behind his back, and he knew they wanted to see each other that badly. There was no denying that Jun had that longing look as he stared at Aiba face to face.  
  
Ever since last night, all he’s been having was bad luck. No, scratch that. Ever since he met Aiba, everything changed for him. There were ups and downs, and even some good memories that he wanted to keep forever. However, only the bad memories keep coming to him the more he continued to stare at the two. He definitely came at a bad timing. He didn’t want to stay longer since his heart couldn’t take it anymore and decided it was best to leave them alone.  
  
Turning around, he walked back into the hotel he dropped Nino off, and dragged the man to his hotel since it wasn‘t that far. After leaving his friend on the couch, he looked around for the last time before taking his leave.  
  
All the memories since the past days will remain in this place, which is the way he wanted it. Everything that happened in there stays in there, and never will Sho come back to remember all these again. Putting his things together, he called for a taxi, taking Nino with him, and gave his suite key to the front desk. He really should’ve been a good boy for once.


	8. Chapter 8

Sho couldn’t blame his father for being mad at him. He was gone for almost a week, and he never answered any of his and his mother’s calls. Besides, he knew he deserved it because he’s been living bad up until he’s almost in his 20’s. He really couldn’t blame his parents since it was his fault in the first place.  
  
“Sho!” His father’s voice boomed throughout the whole place causing him to jump a little. He would die if he rebelled now, and it wasn’t worth it since he can never escape again.  
  
“Y-yes father?” his voice squeaked and he bowed lower to show respect.  
  
“What were you thinking?! Leaving this place without my permission and going anywhere as you please?! And for me to let you go out and use my money-- Why you little--”  
  
“Shotaro!” Sho heard his mom yell before his dad had the chance to hit him square in the face. This time, he was afraid. He didn’t want to feel his dad’s palm strike his face again followed by the lasting pain. Besides, his cheek still ached from last time…  
  
“Well I forgive you. But,” his dad narrowed his eyes before he had the chance to speak, “You will stay in this house until I let you out. Until then, you are free to do as you please, at home.”  
  
Sho wanted to whine, but he realized he would only make it worse. Instead, he went back upstairs and put everything back to where it belongs.  
  
Being home felt…different. Despite the fact that he’s lived in this house his whole life, he almost felt like he was abducted by aliens. Smelling that familiar smell didn’t help either because it nauseated him to the whole. He even plopped himself on his expensive bed, but it didn’t help either. All he could remember was the soft blanket over him, and the new sheet that was replaced everyday by--  
  
Sho shook his head avoiding the image that has slowly started to form in his mind. When that image refused to leave, he trashed himself all over his bed until his mom came up, banging on his door and asking him if he was ok. He didn’t reply back and started to go wild after his mom left him alone.  
  
That man, he couldn’t forget him. He could forget everything else, but his mind refused to let him forget that face, that smile, and those short memories they made together. As much as he wanted to forget, he gave up in the end wanting to see more of his smiles replaying over and over again. But the more he replayed those memories, the more his heart beat increased.  
  
He tried to put a stop to his heart beats afraid that a heart attack would come after. So he closed his eyes, preparing for the next thing to happen. When nothing came he opened his eyes again and saw that he was still in his room, not flying above clouds. He patted his body, just in case he wasn’t transparent, and surely enough he was still alive.  
  
“What is this?” Sho asked himself as he clutched on to his chest. His heart was now beating faster than ever and he could no longer control it. He felt like he had gone through something exciting, and from a never ending bliss. It was hard to come up with a word for it and he was having troubles with it that his head was starting to hurt.  
  
“What is this?” Sho asked Nino after he dialed his number. “My heart is aching, but at the same time it’s beating with joy…”  
  
The other end of the line was silent and Sho was starting to get impatient. He was in need of answers and his friend wasn’t helping.  
  
“It’s love! It’s love!” Nino finally yelled through the phone and laughed right after. “I feel it all the time I see some sexy ass babe in the beach. Why, who is it?! How come you didn’t--”  
  
“Sorry,” Sho apologized and hung up before Nino started pestering him about it. Of course he wanted to tell Nino everything, but now wasn’t the right timing. He felt guilty not telling his friend anything up to now, but he wasn’t so sure back then. He didn’t know his own feelings and he was using the wrong ones to put off the person he loved the whole time.  
  
“Sorry dad,” Sho apologized as he wrote a short note explaining why he disappeared. “I have to be a bad boy again…”  
  
He waited for the night to come and when it did, he slipped through his window, glad that the trampoline was below his floor. He jumped right off the object and fled into the night, making sure that he didn’t set off any alarms. When he made it out of his residence, he ran as fast as he could until he came to a stop at the hotel.  
  
Once he entered the building, he immediately went to the front desk and demanded to bring in the bell boy that assisted him. He was already jumping with so much anticipation while the clerk was talking into the phone. After he hung up, Sho smiled but it disappeared when the clerk had specifically told him that the bell boy no longer worked there.  
  
“There’s a mistake!” Sho denied the clerk and grabbed his collar putting them face to face. “This is the hotel that I, Sakurai Sho, stayed in for almost a week and met Aiba Masaki the man of my life. Now I demand you to tell me where the fuck he is!”  
  
“S-sorry sir,” the man breathed on to his face, “I’ll--”  
  
“Then do your work,” Sho snapped and pushed the man back. After minutes of waiting for a result, the clerk finally called for his attention. Sho even went behind the counter and pushed the man away so he had more space. He glued his eyes to the screen until it pained him to keep his eyes on the monitor, but he was able to know where Aiba was.  
  
“Nino,” Sho called his friend again, glad that he decided to take his phone with him. “Bring your car, we need to go somewhere right now.”  
  
“But--”  
  
“Please! I really need you. I even risked getting out of here after my old man grounded me.”  
  
“Fine,” he heard Nino sigh, “I’ll come. Just tell me where you are.”  
  
Sho told him he was in the same hotel before he hung up and waited for Nino to come. When the latter finally came, Sho hopped in and told him to speed it up. He couldn’t explain anything during the car ride even though it annoyed him that Nino kept bugging him about it. He paid close attention to everything outside and when he finally reached the address, he told Nino to stop in the middle of the street.  
  
He opened the door to the car and sped all the way across the street, dodging cars and trucks that passed by. By the time he reached the sidewalk, he sulked when the bar had already closed for the night only to be opening in the following day. He was so sure that it was Bar Lapin that he went to, but he was starting to doubt he went to the wrong one. Besides, why would a bell boy work at a bar?  
  
“Sho-chan…”  
  
Even that voice was calling him and it pained him knowing that it sounded exactly the same. He wondered how much he actually wanted Aiba that he was growing so crazy.  
  
“Sho-chan…”  
  
There it was again. Calling to him like some kind of angel that was ironically torturing him instead of making him feel better. He really should leave now since people were starting to look at him crazy.  
  
“Sho--”  
  
“Ah! Stop it!” Sho grabbed his head and shook the voice away. “There was no way we would even be together.” He stayed as a man up until now as he let the tears fall down his face. His knees started to give up and he fell to the ground, sobbing until he was sure he created a river deep enough to swim in. It was until he felt a hand on his back, caressing it softly and the sound of a person humming a soft tune.  
  
“My mom always told me,” he heard that voice say, “when someone is feeling down. You should help them up to their feet.”  
  
He was definitely crazy now. He could even feel Aiba’s hand on his back and his voice consoling him gently with soft words. He didn’t even know hallucinations could work that way.  
  
“Sho-chan, give me your hand and I’ll help you up.”  
  
Sho’s hand immediately shot out of instincts. He didn’t tell his brain to do it, but his hand was already in the air. He was certain that his hallucinations were playing with him, but he thought wrong when he felt a hand wrap around his. And this time, he turned around.  
  
His eyes were so puffy that he mistook the person for someone else. But when he was lifted to his feet, he was face to face with Aiba who had a smile on his face. Now the gods were playing with him.  
  
“Where were you? I was looking for you but you disappeared as soon as I came back to work. And when I found out you left for good, I quit work too…”  
  
“You’re just a hallucination,” Sho mumbled.  
  
“What?”  
  
“You’re just a hallucination,” Sho repeated, but louder this time. He wanted to confirm it for himself since he realized he hadn’t had much sleep after all. His eyes were starting to close, and he felt his heart beat slowing down. There was no way that the hallucination in front of him was real. He knew that Aiba had feelings for Jun after he had seen them kiss that day.  
  
His eyelids were starting to feel heavy and he could no longer keep them open. However, he opened them back up when he saw Aiba’s face clearly in front of his, and his eyes were closed. Sho wanted to move his mouth to talk, but something was stuck on it.  
  
“Oi, stupid!”  
  
Sho moved his eyes to the corner and saw Nino waving off in his direction. “He’s kissing you.”  
  
Ki-  
  
Nino was right. He turned his attention back to Aiba whose eyes were still closed. He felt the latter’s soft mouth move against his and he felt his own mouth dancing along with Aiba’s. He thought he was going to fall asleep again, but his eyes only closed because he wanted to feel enjoy the feeling of love that ran through his body.  
  
He always thought people in love shared kisses because they were together. He only realized now that they kiss because they love each other, and their feelings were very much strong.  
  
“Now,” Aiba broke apart from him and smiled. “Do you believe I’m real?”  
  
“Yes, but what about Jun. I saw you with him in a store…”  
  
“Oh you saw? I was going to reject him,” Aiba replied in a simple tone like it didn’t matter at all.  
  
“But the kiss--”  
  
“You assume to much, Sho-chan. He made a move on me first, and I pushed him off as soon as I saw the broken-heart expression on your face. I was going to explain to you, but you pushed me away…”  
  
“So you don’t…like him in any way?”  
  
“No, I don’t,” Aiba chuckled, “it was only you ever since I saved you from becoming a tomato.”  
  
“Then how come--”  
  
“I didn’t know you felt about me the same way so I kept quiet,” Aiba hummed. So that was why the latter was always quiet and spoke unless spoken too. Now he felt guilty for only thinking of himself and not the other people around him. He didn’t even tell Nino about it.  
  
“Then tell me,” Sho snapped out of his thoughts and pulled Aiba into a hug, “that you love me only.”  
  
“I love you,” Aiba replied right away and hugged him tighter until his air was running out, “I’ll love you and only you even after we die, and in the after life, and even in the next life.”  
  
“Masaki…”  
  
“Can we go now? People are looking…”  
  
“Oh yeah,” Sho remembered where they were standing. He looked around him and say a bunch of people with different kinds of expressions, though he was glad that it was night time since not a lot of people were out to see them. Though the other people missed out on the greatest love confession ever.  
  
“I’ll bring you home,” Sho pulled Aiba into Nino’s car. The two sat at the back seat while Nino was in the acting as a chauffer, and being nosy as always. He kicked the back of Nino’s seat when he watched them from the mirror, and when Nino finally looked away, Sho pulled Aiba into another kiss. Nothing could be better than listening to your heart in the first place.  
  
Luckily enough, Sho’s parents were still asleep and he was able to slip in his house without any trouble at all. He almost tripped though from being way too excited. When he made it to his room, he held onto Aiba’s hand tighter, since both of them knew what they want. Taking one last look at each other, Sho opened the door to his room, and pushed Aiba in until they were on his bed smiling lovingly at each other…


End file.
